The previous "Biomedical Engineering Core" has been renamed the "Biomedical Engineering and Informatics Core" to better indicate the major functions it has evolved to perform. The overall mission of this Core is to develop and implement efficient systems for collecting data and extracting the information required by SCOR investigators, from external sources as well as from clinical, animal, and in vitro studies conducted within the SCOR projects. An important part of this process is developing efficient and appropriate study designs in collaboration with out biostatistician. Application of state-of-the-art microcomputer-based tools to facilitate data collection, data storage, data transformation, quality control, data analysis, and graphical display is another major focus of this Core. The Core is also responsible for maintaining the computing environment necessary to carry out these tasks, including software and some hardware maintenance, database management, local area network management, user training, research instrumentation support, and development of customized software, hardware, and statistical methods as required for specific SCOR projects.